A Swansea-based entrepreneur has been unveiled as a winner in the UK’s longest-running recognition programme for female founders, the Tide everywoman Entrepreneur Awards, in association with BGF.
The International Expansion Award, sponsored by Rathbone Financial Planning, was presented to Karen Hewitt, chief of retail at Character.com, from Swansea.
The event was held at The Londoner Hotel in Leicester Square, where over 300 business leaders, investors and supporters of female entrepreneurs united to celebrate the achievements of the women and their businesses.
The winners span a vast array of industries and stages of their entrepreneurial journey, from pioneering start-ups disrupting traditional sectors to established leaders steering multi-million-pound enterprises and purpose-led founders using business as a force for good.
Data from the Female Business Owners Index 2025 from Tide and everywoman paints a picture of a challenging year for women-led enterprises, with the most common setbacks including falling consumer spending, inflation and political uncertainty. Yet female entrepreneurs across the UK are displaying remarkable resilience in the face of economic headwinds with 67% expecting their revenues to grow over the next year.
Nicole Goodwin and Sophie Catto, joint managing directors of AllBright everywoman, said:
“Female entrepreneurs across the UK are demonstrating extraordinary perseverance, optimism and ambition in one of the toughest business climates in recent years. Female founders are working longer hours and navigating multiple pressure points, yet their determination has never been stronger.
“By bringing together a powerful community of role models, investors, mentors and partners, these awards not only celebrate success stories but actively create them by opening doors to funding, commercial opportunities and strategic support. This year’s finalists and winners are bold innovators, breaking down deep-rooted barriers for the next generation of female founders. We are immensely proud to celebrate their achievements and champion the unstoppable women who are reshaping the UK’s entrepreneurial landscape.”
Karen has led her business from a “kitchen table idea” into one of the UK's fastest-growing digital retailers of licensed character clothing and accessories. Her dedicated efforts have propelled Character.com into a global success story, which has dispatched in excess of four million products to satisfied customers around the world. As well as exporting globally, Karen nurtures and maintains robust relationships with global licensors, including industry giants such as Disney, Paramount and Hasbro. These relationships, plus the company’s ability to combine speed, agility and licensing expertise, give Character.com early access to emerging character trends and exclusive collections, keeping them one step ahead of the market.
Karen said:
“I am really grateful to be nominated and be in this room with such inspiring people today. Thanks to my husband, who is also the co-founder, and BGF who have invested in our business.”
George Schmidt, Tide UK/Europe CEO, said:
“This year’s winners and nominees capture exactly what makes female entrepreneurship such a powerful force in the UK. Many women have been navigating tougher conditions, yet the founders recognised today have shown remarkable ambition and creativity in how they are building and growing their businesses.
“The Tide everywoman Entrepreneur Awards do more than celebrate individual success stories. They help create the conditions for those successes by giving founders greater visibility, stronger networks and access to opportunities that too many women are still denied.
“At Tide, we’re committed to helping women-led businesses start, scale and thrive, which is why our partnership with everywoman is so important to us. The founders honoured this year are reshaping their sectors and inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs. We’re proud to stand alongside them and support the momentum they are creating.”
Gemma Hamilton, Head of Origination at BGF, said:
“At BGF, we’re committed to championing the successes of female founders, which is why we are delighted to be associate sponsor of the 2025 everywoman Entrepreneur Awards for the fourth year running. It’s so important to recognise the outstanding contribution that talented female founders make to the wider economy. At BGF, we’re proud to have committed at least £300 million to support female entrepreneurship over the next five years, adding to our £540+ million capital deployment in some of the UK’s most exciting and ambitious female powered businesses to date.”
THE 2025 WINNERS ARE:
- WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD: Toria Chan and Jules Shiel-Boulger, co-founders of STEPS Rehabilitation, from Sheffield.
- TIDE GRANT OF £20,000 for an exceptional female-founded SME: Zoe Williams, founder of Aegle's, from London.
- BRAND OF THE FUTURE AWARD – sponsored by The White Company: Daisy Knatchbull, Founder and CEO of Knatchbull, from London.
- THE BALANCE AWARD: Rana Righton, managing director of The Gluten Free Bakery, from London.
- ENTREPRENEUR FOR GOOD AWARD – sponsored by Specsavers: Ruby Raut, CEO of WUKA Ltd, from Welwyn Garden City.
- INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION AWARD – sponsored by Rathbone Financial Planning: Karen Hewitt, chief of retail at Character.com, from Swansea.
- THE NEXT LEVEL AWARD – Sponsored by Saffery: Charlotte Stagg and Jessica Lancaster, co-founders and CEOs of Coconut Lane UK and Cocopup London, from Witney.
- SCALE UP AWARD – sponsored by BGF: Julie Collison, director of Clear Strategy Limited, from Dublin.
- SOCIAL STAR AWARD: Daisy Kelly, founder & CEO of Glow For It, from Hammersmith.
- SOLOPRENEUR AWARD: Katy Fridman, founder of Flexible Working People, from London.
- SMALL ENTERPRISE AWARD – sponsored by Tide: Rosie Skuse, founder & CEO of Molto Music Group, from London. Tide also presented an additional £1,000 grant to Rosie and Molto Music Group.
- TECH INNOVATOR AWARD – Sponsored by Farrer & Co: Emma O'Brien, founder & CEO of Embridge Consulting, from Kent.
The 2025 winners were chosen by a judging panel comprising some of the UK’s most successful women in business, as well as VCs and investors who are at the forefront of closing the funding gap with their diverse portfolios. Judges included Chrissie Rucker (founder of The White Company), Susan Allen (co-founder at Here We Flo), Kelli Aspland (director of Solar Buddies), Yvonne Nagawa (chief of staff at Black Seed Ventures), Sarah Anderson CBE (chief executive at The Listening Place), and Nell Daly (founder & managing partner at Revenge Capital), amongst others.
